The Elizabethtown-Messiah “Marshmallow Bowl” soccer game is one of the biggest traditions on campus, and yet, by my senior year, I had not been able to attend any of the last three games. I was excited to finally be able to enjoy the experience, but I was especially happy that despite the rain of the previous two days, the game would go on as scheduled.
The game was a great experience and a lot of fun. I was impressed with the near-side linesman’s ability to ignore the flurry of marshmallows heading directly his way and his acceptance of his work conditions that day — he pumped his fist when the first marshmallow struck him. However, as the game progressed, things started getting a little out of control.
Two things in particular shocked me. Firstly, a group of young elementary-school-aged children, who were Messiah fans, began throwing marshmallows at a section of students in the far right bleachers, and the students understandably returned fire. Unfortunately, the general velocity of the marshmallow — throwing began increasing to the point at which students were getting hurt by hits to the face. One of the children made it his absolute goal to throw marshmallows as hard as possible and cause as much damage as possible, at points throwing entire packed bags of marshmallows as hard as he could at a distance no greater than twenty feet. It did not take long for some Etown students to realize it was escalating too much, but some students, who I believe should know better than a couple ten-year-old children, continued to heckle them and provoke a continuation of the ridiculous attempt to injure people.
I have no idea where their parents or guardians were, and I believe that the children started the whole thing, but I think that college students should know better than to feed the relatively mindless aggression of children, and rather, should respond in a manner that demonstrates respect, sportsmanship and the integrity Etown College students pledge to uphold at the First Year Induction Ceremony. The College’s Pledge of Integrity that is signed by all first-year students reads in part: “we will strive to behave toward one another with civility and with respect for the rights of others.”
The game went on, and as Etown continued to be dominated by the offensive juggernaut Messiah, dumb things began to happen. First of all, two baking pans managed to take flight and land on the field of play from the bleachers full of Etown students. At least one of the pans nearly struck the linesman and had to be removed from the field during a stoppage in play. Full bags of marshmallows and other random objects also littered the field, acting as obstacles around which the players had to navigate in order to avoid injury.
The most disgusting incident I witnessed occurred near the end of the game. An Etown student, standing behind the rope by the near sideline, threw an entire bag of marshmallows at the head of a Messiah player taking a throw-in. The bag of marshmallows, packed together, presumably to do more damage, struck the back of the player’s head, and the offender was promptly removed from the game by Campus Security.
I have never experienced similar behavior at any other sporting events in my years here, so I have little doubt that the poor behavior of some students at the “marshmallow” game this year was isolated to that game. I believe the poor conduct of some students is based on the intensity of the rivalry between the two schools and bitterness about Etown’s inability to defeat the Falcons, who have built a dynasty over the past couple of decades.
I do not know how the rivalry between Etown and Messiah will change now that the Blue Jays will be in a different conference, but I do know the type of conduct I experienced at this year’s game threatens the marshmallow tradition, although it is one of the most unique and memorable traditions in all of college sports. If allowed to further escalate, this type of conduct could damage the rivalry between the two schools. This behavior also reflects poorly on the Etown student body. The intention of throwing marshmallows has never been and should never be injurious in any way. Rather, it should be a fun way of competing and expressing school spirit. I hope that the student body will consciously reflect on how it responds to acts that fall short of the standards we have with respect to how we would like our community defined.
